'Justice for Donna' rally will convene at City Hall

Ariana Harris was 4 years old when she was hit by a car and first met "Officer Donna," a woman who would go on to become like a member of her family, so close that she delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Harris' brother nearly two years ago. That patrol officer was Donna Nicholson, the wom...

Ariana Harris was 4 years old when she was hit by a car and first met "Officer Donna," a woman who would go on to become like a member of her family, so close that she delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Harris' brother nearly two years ago.

That patrol officer was Donna Nicholson, the woman who filed a complaint of discrimination and retaliation against the Peoria Police Department last week. And Harris, now 19, says she's ready to speak up for Nicholson just like the officer has done for her family the last 15 years.

Harris is organizing a march in support of Nicholson that will convene at 4 p.m. Tuesday in front of City Hall. She spoke with the Journal Star on Monday afternoon as she worked on a sign that read "Justice for Donna" in the living room of her Peoria home.

"Whether it's five people or 5,000 people, somebody's got to be out there to stand behind her," Harris said. "We're not here to make the chief look bad or make (other officers) look bad, but Donna needs justice. . . . If the Peoria Police Department isn't going to do something about it, then who will?"

Nicholson has claimed in a filing with the Illinois Department of Human Rights that she is being retaliated against by Chief Steve Settingsgaard for claiming a fellow officer harassed her over several years through late 2010. Nicholson eventually won a court case seeking an order of protection against officer Jeff Wilson, who was found to have stalked her using department-owned surveillance equipment.

Wilson is still a patrol officer with the department, though he may only possess a firearm when he is on duty as a condition of the no-stalking order that remains in effect until July 2013.

City Manager Patrick Urich acknowledged the IDHR complaint on Monday, but said the city by policy would not comment on pending litigation.

"We will pursue all of our rights as a respondent to this charge according to the rules and regulations of the IDHR," Urich wrote in an email response to questions.

Urich also confirmed that the city paid for Wilson's legal bills in the order of protection case as allowed by language in the city's contract with the Peoria Police Benevolent Association and state statute that furnishes such services when an officer is sued for actions taken "in the course of employment." A Journal Star request for all attorney invoices related to that proceeding still is pending.

Several other friends and acquaintances contacted by the Journal Star on Monday expressed support for Nicholson though had no direct knowledge of her circumstances inside the department, while one retired Peoria policeman who was her field training officer generally spoke about behind-the-scenes conditions rarely glimpsed by the public.

Page 2 of 2 - Ron Givens said turmoil between officers and command staff - and disparate treatment among those who have favor with their superiors and those who do not - are realities that have been faced by officers for decades in Peoria and beyond.

He did note, however, that the chorus he hears each time he speaks with a group of current officers is one that centers on how different the department has become from the time he worked there, and how extraordinarily strained relations are between officers, command staff and the administration.

"Donna is not telling a lie about what is going on," Givens said. "I don't think she would be coming forward if there wasn't enough fuel for the fire.